Guy
Chiarenza, a sophomore striker on the Providence Hall High School soccer team,
shared the love for his favorite sport with children at his alma mater by
gathering 205 soccer balls for Providence Hall Elementary.

“I
want to inspire the next generation of soccer players,” Chiarenza said. “I
wanted them to have access to the equipment because they might find that they
love the sport that I love.”

Before
Chiarenza’s donation, the elementary school had limited gym equipment with
eight soccer balls. Doug Pinkal, the physical education teacher at the school,
said Guy’s contributions were “a dream come true.”

“It
might only take one soccer ball to play a game, but it takes many to do
meaningful drills and encourage skill development,” he said. “The donation
easily provides each student a ball during PE, with plenty to spare for
recess.”

Chiarenza
began trying to come up with a community service project in November when he
heard that Providence Hall Elementary was running low on gym equipment. He put
the soccer spin on the project to coincide with his own passion for the sport
and rounded up the soccer balls by early March. His original goal was to
provide 20 soccer balls for the school, but he exceeded that goal 10 times
over.

“I
was so surprised,” Chiarenza said. “I knew I could be successful with the
donation, but I didn’t think that would mean giving away 200 soccer balls and
two soccer nets. I was just shocked—in a good way.”

Some
of the companies he contacted declined to donate or didn’t contact him back, so
he said it felt like a victory when he received $50 in donations to shop at Big
5 Sporting Goods. He used that money to purchase five new soccer balls. He also
cleaned cars to earn money to purchase soccer goals for the school.

Later,
Chiarenza heard back from Copper Mountain Soccer Club representatives. They
said they would donate at least 50 soccer balls to his cause and ended up
donating 200 balls.

“I
couldn’t be happier with this outcome,” Chiarenza said. “Now the kids have a
chance to really try this sport out.”

Soccer
is a hobby that has helped Chiarenza through the ups and downs of life, he
said. He started the sport at 4 years old and has continued play ever since. He
said he’s developed a love of teamwork and friendship through soccer and hopes
his project can help others find that, too.

Chiarenza
used the project to accomplish a Middle Years Program, a personal 25-hour
project through the International Baccalaureate educational foundation.
From drafting a plan, to asking businesses for donations to presenting his
project outcome to others involved in the MYP program, Chiarenza said the
project wasn’t an easy task but said it was worth it.

Pinkal
said he was impressed with the determination one teenager had to help the
students at Providence Hall Elementary.

“His project has created opportunities otherwise
unavailable for many of our students,” Pinkal said. “I was very impressed with Guy
for choosing a project that benefits his community, and I’m very grateful that
our school is at the center of it.”